==== Project Name: ====

  * Proposed name for the project: ''OPNFV Platform Characterization''
  * Proposed name for the repository: ''tbd''
  * Project Categories: ''Integration & Testing''
==== Project description: ====
The OPNFV Platform Characterization project targets functional and performance testing of OPNFV releases on community agreed platform configurations as a reference for evaluating and developing NFVI solutions.

A set of prioritized use-cases will provide focus and drive individual projects with either of the following approaches ... 
    * OPNFV Platform - **VNF deployment Testing** (NFV use-cases with focus on functional testing)
    * OPNFV Platform - **Performance Benchmarking** (micro or macro benchmarks with focus on platform performance and stability)

==== Scope: ====

Objective is to characterize the OPNFV Platform (capabilities, performance limits, etc.) … the intention is NOT to validate performance of Vendor's proprietary VNFs (there are many different approaches to deploying VNFs to achieve certain service level requirements)

Individual projects will be proposed, discussed and initiated by the Test & Performance sub-group ...
  * Use case being addressed
  * Metrics
  * Known requirements or existing benchmarks
  * Test cases
  * Test methodology - including special tools and requirements for generating load
  * Target platform (SUT) configuration/s - hardware and software
  * Network topology
  * Interfaces being exercised
  * VNFs or other workloads being used



==== Project Categories ====

**__VNF deployment Testing__** 

  * Use-cases (ETSI NFV)
      * Test cases

  * Deployment configurations
    * VNF configuration
    * Network topology / configuration

  * Focus is on functional testing - verify OPNFV Platform functionality of VIM and NFVI

  * Approach
      * Break down the use case into a basic core function in its minimalistic form and provides the necessary topology, traffic patterns etc
      * Collect info in traffic profiles
	
  * Use cases initially proposed 
      * virtual Provider Edge  
      * virtual Evolved Packet Core 
      * IP Multimedia Subsystem
      * Content Delivery Network, CDN Node
      * Home Gateway, NAT, ALG, RGW etc.


**__Performance Benchmarking__**

  * Test cases (Test Specification)
      * Characterize components … NIC, vSwitch, hypervisor, etc.
      * Map to VNF deployment use-cases
 
  * Platform configuration
  
  * Focus is on performance testing
      * verify OPNFV Platform performance of NFVI components and sub-systems
      * identify performance limiting hardware and software entities in the system and provide solutions to improve the performance of the system
      * Scaling and performance the NIC, vNIC, vSwitch, hyper-visor, CPU, Memory, storage devices etc., and their associated metrics like throughput, latency, cpu utilization, etc

  * Approach
      * test cases that are used to measure the OPNFV platform characteristics as well as certain core functions of the OPNFV platform
      * specify various platform components and associated metrics and detailed test plan 



==== Documentation: ====

  * API Docs
  * Functional block description

==== Dependencies: ====

  * Identify similar projects is underway or being proposed in OPNFV or upstream project
  * Identify any open source upstream projects and release timeline. 
  * Identify any specific development be staged with respect to the upstream project and releases.
  * Are there any external fora or standard development organization dependencies. If possible, list and informative and normative reference specifications.
  * If project is an integration and test, identify hardware dependency.

==== Committers and Contributors: ====

  * Name of and affiliation of the maintainer 
  * Names and affiliations of the committers
  * Any other contributors

==== Planned deliverables ====

  * Described the project release package as OPNFV or open source upstream projects.
  * If project deliverables have multiple dependencies across other project categories, described linkage of the deliverables.

==== Proposed Release Schedule: ====

  * When is the first release planned?
  * Will this align with the current release cadence